Wednesday, September 17, 2008

A Misunderstanding

Ruthie has been excused form the outpatient program. I am not entirely surprised but I did warn them. She is not emotionally or physically close to her age and does not fit in at all. They want to put her in the 6 yr old group and I agree with that decision. Since Ava is already in there they have to let Ruthie off for the next 6-8 weeks. Patches will be attending instead.

Ruthie had AT today and actually spoke about her feelings before we could even get started. This group she had been attending asked her what makes her sad. She cried but refused to share. Poor child thought she wasn't supposed to tell them anything b/c I had told her not to share with her teachers or friends. The called themselves her friends so she refused to tell them. I am so proud that she finally chose to have boundaries. This is a first. I am sad she didn't understand she was in therapy and it was OK but she will next time.

Ruthie is trying to work on defusing before she disassociates. The AT asked her to come up with a que that I can give her to remind her to calm down. She asked me to do a dance I am famous for. OK, maybe not famous outside our home but around here they love it. She told the AT it made her laugh so she knows it will work. She insisted I do it in front of him. He had a difficult time holding himself together. He agreed it should help.

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About Me

I am the mother of 10 children, 6 are part of a large sibling group we adopted through foster care in 2006, 2 are our grown foster daughters, 2 are from independent infant adoptions in 2001 and 2008. Every one of them have their own issues to work through from Schizo-Affective Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Complex PTSD, Reactive Attachment Disorder, Sensory Integration Dysfunction, ADHD, and Cerebral Palsy. Most of our children have been victims of sexual abuse by a close family member, most acted out sexually or exhibited predatory behaviors. We are currently trying to figure out where the trauma ends and mental illness begins in each of their lives.